Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET ON AN OLD BOOK (PICKED UP IN A SECOND-HAND BOOK SHOP), by JOHN HAYNES HOLMES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET ON AN OLD BOOK (PICKED UP IN A SECOND-HAND BOOK SHOP), by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Good friend, to wisdom and to beauty born
Last Line: Some other, to the books I love, give grace!
Subject(s): Books; Reading


Good friend, to wisdom and to beauty born,
Now soiled and tattered in thy low estate,
Where is the home that sheltered thee ere fate
Cast thee abroad to meet the world's poor scorn;
And where the hand that clasped thee on a morn
Of fresh delight, or, through an evening late,
Ere weariness on eyelids laid its weight
Of sleep, caressed thy page beloved and worn?
I claim thee mine, abandoned as thou art,
And fold thee safely in my warm embrace;
Thou shalt have room within my crowded heart,
Among my friends a not unhonored place.
So, on a day when I am gone apart,
Some other, to the books I love, give grace!





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